Rouen leaned back on his seat and tried to relax when he had just finished signing all the papers right in front of him but not a minute later, Sorian dropped another pile of papers in place of the ones he had just cleared right off his table. Here he was thinking he was already done, but he guessed not. He should stop thinking he would be able to have a rest from all these papers that he needed to review and sign.
"Where have you been going all this time with all these documents on your table that you needed to sign? Didn't you know I have nicely prepared all this to welcome your return, your highness?"
"More of a welcome revenge if you ask me," he retorted. "Why does this seem like it is never ending? I've been cooped up here since I arrived. I may not be sleeping, but doing this continuously for the whole night is too much even for me. It's unhealthy."
"If you had started it early this morning, you would have been done by now."
"I made a promise, Sorian. I can't just drop it off just like that because of… these."
Rouen almost glared at the pile of documents Sorian placed on top of his table right in front of him. He had the urge to just burn it but he kept it to himself since Sorian would surely give him a stink eye even if he was higher than him when it came to their status. He had just finished signing the ones Sorian brought in probably this morning, thinking that he would be attending to it immediately, but everything was put on hold since he accompanied Eona around Laudicea until the sun went down without telling him. When he came back to the palace, the duke was there waiting for his arrival to make sure he did all the work that was waiting for him even all night if needed, just as long as it was done before the morning came. Sorian said since he doesn't sleep, they will just make use of it for him to finish all the documents he brought to his office for him to sign.
"Can't I go out whenever I want to take a breather?" He asked back as he started signing the papers to reduce them just a little.
He's been cooped up here in his office ever since he came back from the world of the living because of his duty as a prince. He didn't even have the leisure to rest so he made use of the time he had with Eona to an extent.
"May I point out that you have been breathing for a long time, your highness? In fact, a very long time even though you obviously don't need it. Do not tell me it is still not enough? Have you forgotten that you purposely hid yourself from the vampire court after all this time and that you left the pitiful me with everything which you yourself are supposed to handle as this kingdom's crown prince? I was ordered by the king to assist you, not take over all of your work for you. Who would have thought you were controlling the minds of the vampire students and teachers at Hillcrest for them to not tell us you were just there where we never thought you would be in the first place? And Kaien… I despise him more now that I learned he hid you from us intentionally."
Rouen grinned due to Sorian's nagging as he rested his chin in his right hand perched on the table while he played with the pen which he used to sign the papers in his left hand. He stared at the duke in front of him who looked like he didn't mind him being a prince.
"Is that you complaining, Sorian?"
Sorian Aldestine - a vampire with silver hair and blue eyes, one that is so rare among their race because something of that hair color can only be found in those who have werewolf blood in them. He once said that his hair was naturally auburn, but when he turned into a vampire, his hair color changed into silver. It is not like he wanted it to be so. Sorian is the youngest of all the First Bloods because he was turned when he was only twenty-one. The king ordered him back then to take the responsibility of assisting the crown prince while he held a position at the vampire court as the Duke of Aldestine Duchy, because Rouen's father knew how capable Sorian was. With Rouen's disappearance, every one of his responsibilities as Aceldama's prince has literally been put on his shoulders. In fact, Rouen is quite amazed that he was able to handle it alone after all this time.
Sorian is actually one of the few out there who was able to get onto his good side. He may be serious most of the time unlike Sin Edelweiss who seemed to have been living his life from an almost positive vantage point, but Rouen knew he could trust him. That is the reason why he left everything to him before he went into hiding many years ago.
"Yes, this is me complaining. You said you would only be gone for a few years. Who knew it would turn out to be a human being's entire lifetime?"
"That… is a few years," Rouen pointed out, because for a vampire, a human's life is just a speck of the moment.
"But not for a natural, so it can still be considered long."
"But we're supernaturals, aren't we?"
"Yes, but I'm sure you get my point. You are just pushing reasons."
He chuckled but continued to sign the papers nonetheless. It was a little while later when he remembered something. "Sorian?"
"Yes, your highness."
Rouen stared at him intently before he leaned back on his seat and crossed his hands right in front of him. "Have you been able to find the book I told you to find before I left the court?"
The Unknown Prophecies. It is a book created by the Enchantress, Galadriel Evergreen. It is the second part of the book entitled 'The Hidden Past' which was stolen from their archives when he was five. The first book is all about the past of all beings - how races came to be divided after living in harmony during the Golden Age. Ever since it was stolen from them, they have never been able to find it again. They didn't even have any idea who stole it in the first place.
The minute Rouen came to learn about the prophecy going around about a Golden Blood who seemed to have turned out to be him because he was the only vampire to have ever been born as one, he had been on a mission to find the second book. If his entire life had been prophesied, he might as well learn what will happen in the future with him standing in the middle of it. If the book mentions a war that is yet to happen, who knows if there is something written about how he is going to prevent it from happening? That would have been great.
He knew it was hidden for the purpose of keeping it away from the hands of anyone who might change the future written for them, but isn't that what it's supposed to be? Change the future for the better? But maybe the real purpose was to keep it away from the hands of those who wanted to twist the future into their own liking. For example, creating a world where the villains stand above all others, where they can enslave beings that don't agree with the way they have chosen to live - as gods. That is something that can not be allowed to happen.
Back then, he asked Sorian to find it in his stead in their world while he tried to find it in the world of the living. He was not able to find it over there after so many years, so it must only be here. Tempestra would not have taken an interest in it because the book is not about the lycans, it is about him, the hybrid.
"I have, your highness. It was in the possession of the clergy after all this time. But I only have a glimpse of what was written inside before they had it concealed using the hands of the Eberstein family."
"Delilah's?"
"Yes, but according to my intel, the family had their name used to hide who have really taken custody of the book to keep anyone who have wanted it for their own with the hopes of twisting the events that is yet to come."
"Do you know which family has it now?"
"It's the Rosenthals."
"Damon's family?"
Why would Damon's house be keeping that book which should have been in the hands of the royal family in the first place? Or is it because they directly serve the royal family aside from being part of the vampire court? It is, after all, the Rosenthal family who oversees all the sentinels - knights who kept the peace in Aceldama.
"The clergy said the book chooses its keeper and it seems like it has chosen the Rosenthal family."
"Tell me what you read."
"I was only able to read partway before the book literally vanished from my hand. I must have found it during the time the book finally found its keeper, so it disappeared just like that."
"Have you memorized the contents?"
"Yes, but only the first and second parts. The book has been divided into four parts with two postscripts at the end and it is written in the old language of the witches."
Old language of the witches. It was Galadriel who wrote it, so it isn't surprising that she used the language used by the witches during the Golden Age. Their friend Astrid can understand it, but she herself says that she doesn't use it aside from casting a spell, none of the witches does, as if the use of their mother tongue has been forgotten by the witches' descendants.
Sorian looked at him before he narrated what he read.
"In medio chao, Princeps aurea et sanguis meus est natus, vir, qui erat princeps sanguinem quis vampire et a werewolf. Et peperit erit signum novam aetatem venire. Era est in qua lamia et werewolves et quasi unus. Non est pax aeterna, quod non ex desiderio suo quisque. Semper enim est pax coniungit vincti perdere omnia significat quae belli venturum. In medio chaos, Princeps aurei Sanguinis nascetur, Princeps qui fuit sanguis lamia et lupinotuum. Nativitas eius signum erit novae aetatis futurum. Tempus ubi lamia et lycanthroporum in unum coniungentur. pax aeterna ab omnibus non est petita. Semper enim, qui pacem iungentem omnibus labefactare tenentur, bellum futurum significans. (In the midst of chaos, a prince of Golden Blood will be born, a prince whose blood was that of a vampire and a werewolf. His birth would be the signal for a new era to come. An era where vampires and werewolves will be united as one. No, it is not the eternal peace that was craved by everyone. For there are always those who are bound to ruin the peace that was uniting them all, signalling a war that is yet to come.)
Centum anni cum rosae floreant, memoria praeteritorum parietum exitium colliget. Via principis cum vagis, qui in mundo humano vixit. Illa vox tam suavis et captatrix est foemina, quae una cum principe consistet, cuius sanguis ille auri fuit, simulque veteres hostes superabunt. (In a hundred years when roses bloom, memories of the past will gather bringing forth a doom. The prince's path will cross with that of a wanderer, one who has been living in the human world. She is a woman possessing a voice so sweet and captivating who will stand together with the prince whose blood was that of gold and together they will defeat the enemies of old.)"
A wanderer who has been living in the human world? Does that mean his beloved is a human being? Is it Eona? Then how come he could not feel her? Is it someone else like he thought it was? Rouen bit his lip, something he always did when he is thinking about something seriously.
"Can I order her to be killed before I even meet her? But how the hell am I going to do that if I don't even know who she is?" He whispered to himself as his face became grim.
Sorian gaped at the prince. He may have whispered his thoughts unknowingly, but how can he be thinking such things?
"Are you planning to get your beloved murdered before you even meet her?"
"Yes, I am planning to. But in order for me to do that, I have to meet her first."
"But why?"
Sorian couldn't understand him. A vampire's beloved is their other half, a person who has half of their soul. After living all this time, he himself hasn't met his yet and here is Rouen, who is already planning to murder his just after he heard the prophecy about him and her. He thought the prince had been waiting for her all this time. He thought it was the reason why he stayed away from all of the women around him who wished to have his heart for their own. Is he wrong?
"Because my heart has already been claimed by another. I don't need another entity to ruin what I had just started to build with her," Rouen stated without a pause before he sealed his lips when he came to realize something.
His heart thumped with his own thoughts as if it came alive after two centuries of being dead, making him blush in front of Sorian, who was left looking at him long and hard in wonder. Rouen cursed in his mind. He loves Eona. He is in love with the girl he tried to push away the night before. And he is willing to have his beloved murdered for her. How can he fall without him noticing? Or did he just take a conscious jump and let himself fall for her the second he accepted her existence in his life even before he noticed it himself? No, he is sure it was the newly awakened devil in him that made him take the jump because his subconscious felt something he didn't. Is that why he awakened in her presence? He awakened for her?
Sorian massaged his temple. This can't be happening. He had been living for so long that he knew every vampire who had ever said those words ate them all back upon meeting the person destined to stand by their side. A vampire has never had the ability and strength to stay away from a beloved's pull. It will bring them to their fated person no matter what, no matter how many times they resist for the sake of another.
"Your highness, if I may?"
"Yes."
"It is your life that was written in the Book of Unknown Prophecies. If you do not want to hurt the girl whom you have said already claimed your heart, stay away from her. The longer you stay by her side, the harder it will be for her when you say goodbye, because you cannot fight a beloved's pull, even if you are the prince of this kingdom. It will take you away from the girl who has claimed your heart the second you get to meet the one destined to be by your side. You love that girl now, your highness, but that love will vanish immediately upon meeting your destined beloved as if it never existed in the first place. You will never forget, but you will never feel regret. Us vampires are cursed to live our lives that way. No matter how much we treasure someone, if they are not the one, it will all be in vain and they will always be the receiving end of all the pain that comes with it, as long as they live. Can you hurt her that way?"
Rouen was speechless. He clenched his hand. He knew Sorian was right but he didn't want to acknowledge what he said. Just as when he decided to let someone in. Just as when he accepted Eona in his life. Why did it have to come to this as if fate was playing him in its own hand? Couldn't he have introduced his beloved in the first place instead of letting Eona in onto his life if it was going to tear them apart in the end? He loves her, but does he have the heart to hurt her that way? No. Because he knew Eona would be shattered.
"What about the other parts?"
"I apologize but I didn't have the time to read the rest."
Rouen needed to get a hold of that book. He needed to know what was written on the rest of it. He couldn't just let Eona slip away from him just because a damned book of prophecies stated what his life was going to be and who was going to be standing by his side. But maybe, the best thing for him to do right now was to not let her know about how he feels towards her. If it was for her own sake, he needed to stay away from her. But can he?
"Sorian, I - "
"Rouen…" a voice so familiar to him whispered in the air, cutting him off from what he was about to say.
He moved his head quickly on the side and to the other, hoping to see the girl whom that voice belonged to, but he didn't see her nor a shadow of her.
"Eona?"
No, it couldn't be. She is in the Crystal Manor right now, which is miles away from the palace. How could he hear her quivering voice, as if she was just beside him? And Sorian doesn't seem to have heard it like he did.
"Your highness, are you alright?"
He was about to answer Sorian but for the second time he heard Eona's voice calling out to him in his mind, this time more frantic than the first. "Rouen!"
He does not know what is happening but he can feel her fear as if it is suffocating him at the moment. She couldn't be using telepathy now, could she? He was about to ignore it but then he heard her scream horrifyingly in his mind, as if death was chasing her.
"Rouen, help!"
"Damn it!" He cursed when goosebumps crawled into his hands as he slammed the pen he was using to sign the papers on his table.
He stood away from his seat and his breathing was rapid, as if he was directly being affected by what was happening to Eona at the moment wherever she was. This wasn't like the first time he knew she was in danger. Tonight, it felt like they were currently sharing the same body and he could literally feel what she was feeling. The fear, the pain and the helplessness. Eona's feelings had totally become his own.
"How am I feeling this way if you are not my beloved? But how can I not feel you if ever you are?" Rouen asked himself in his thoughts, torn by the situation he was currently in because he didn't have the answers he needed.
This couldn't be just a mere coincidence. Something horrible is happening to Eona right now and he can feel it. The voice he is continuously hearing in his mind is pleading for him to come and rescue her.
"Your… highness?"
Sorian was stunned when he glanced in his direction. Rouen's aquamarine eyes are glistening dangerously at that moment and the gold specs have completely blended into them. The prince looks like he is about to kill someone. His fangs have lengthened and it seems like he is not even aware of it.
"Is this Rouen's awakened state?" Sorian asked himself in his mind.
What just happened? Rouen may have been planning to have his beloved murdered just a while ago but he never gave off such bloodlust coming out of him, unlike now. What is this pressure he is feeling that is coming off of the prince like a waterfall? It is heavy, and it screams danger in the most literal way.
"Sorian Aldestine, come with me."
Such simple words came out of his mouth but they had the ability to bind a duke of his stature. Yes, this is definitely the awakened state of the Gold Blood, who has the power to order even a king to do his bidding.
Sorian bowed and raised his fisted right hand to his chest, a gesture of respect and surrender. "As you command, my prince."
They didn't even use the doors because Rouen was in a hurry, so they just jumped away from the palace through the window of his office. Rouen cannot think of anything that might have happened to Eona. She is in a manor owned by his godfather, so she should be safe. After all, it had only been a few hours since he left her in Crystal Palace. Cohen's servants are capable enough to keep her safe from harm, so what is wrong?
He really doesn't like it when he doesn't know something. First, the whole content of the book he needed to find and now this? He was thinking of the worst and he couldn't find it in him to spare the lives of those who might have caused her harm in his absence. Or was it his godfather's servants who had caused her harm even after he had threatened them?
"I will kill them," he gritted his teeth, and Sorian was left following him without a word.
"Duke Aldestine, might I ask where you and my son are going at this time of the night when he should be working in his office right now?"
Sorian's eyes glistened but his lips remained tight-lipped. The voice that echoed in his mind had been so familiar to him ever since he became a vampire. It is the king. He must have seen them leave the palace grounds.
"Something has happened, your majesty. And I was compelled to follow every word of the prince. I apologize if I am unable to stop him."
"He used his compulsion on you?" King Mikhail asked, astonished. "What made him do it?"
"He had mentioned a name before he turned into his awakened state. That must have been the reason as to why the prince looks like he is about to murder someone."
"A name?" The king paused. "No! Did Rouen say 'Eona'?"
If Sorian remembered correctly, she was the girl Cohen brought with him who had slept in the palace for one night as per Austria's command after that incident which had taken place in the glass house garden. If she had this much effect on the prince, could she be his beloved? But the way he put his words a while ago, Sorian could tell that she was not.
"Yes, your majesty."
The king remained speechless for about a minute before he said something that made Sorian stare at the back of the prince who was in front of him while they were travelling as fast as they could towards Cohen's manor.
"Try and see what happened and then report to me the soonest possible time when you get back to the palace. Eona is the reason why Rouen became hostile to us, his own parents, last night. He is protecting her, so do not do anything to the girl that will make him consider you a threat, because in my son's awakened state, his priority is to keep the girl safe from everyone else."
"Of course, your majesty."
Rouen looked back at him, his eyes had remained glistening, the aquamarine color completely mixed with gold. Under the moon, he looks otherworldly.
"I'm sure you are aware that I heard everything, right?" Rouen asked before he focused his attention back on his tracks.
He is talking about what was discussed during his conversation with the king through telepathy. Sorian was not surprised. Everyone who knew the prince knows that he can hear telepathy clearly even if he is not included in it. Being born as a Gold Blood, he was blessed with so many abilities that other vampires have been obviously envious of, especially when Rouen himself doesn't even care that he was born with such gifts any vampire would want to have as their own.
"Yes, your highness."
"I have more control of my awakened state right now compared to last night so you don't have anything to worry about. Maybe it's because I'm more focused on who might have hurt her? If matter comes to worse, do what needs to be done."
That is Rouen saying that if Sorian needed to restrain him to lessen any casualties, he must do so using any means. But will he be able to? After all, he is already under his compulsion. Not unless Rouen will order him directly to restrain him if needed, he certainly won't be able to.
"Are you going to kill him or them?"
"Yes."
They travelled the distance towards the Crystal Manor half of the time it should usually take, and upon their arrival, Rouen could immediately tell which room Eona was currently in. He didn't wait for any servant to welcome them, he jumped straight into the terrace of Eona's room and Sorian followed suit, even knowing that they'd be breaking in. They entered like a thief would have, not creating any noise. Rouen immediately saw Eona sleeping on the bed like nothing had happened but she was sweating profusely as if something was happening to her in her sleep. He could feel something and it was coming off of the girl's sleeping form in waves. He took a step towards her but it was then when Eona screamed in her sleep, making every vampire in the manor hear her in the silence of the night. Not a second later, Cohen, who obviously had just come out of his office, came in from the door along with Yule, who seemed ready to fight if needed.
"Rouen and… Sorian?" He asked, wondering what these two were doing in Eona's room at that moment in time.
"We will explain ourselves later," was all what Sorian said, while Rouen focused his attention back on Eona who is now crying in her sleep as if she was in pain but was unable to awaken from it.
"Sorian, get Sin here immediately," Rouen ordered because he suspected that a night walker is doing this to her before the duke disappeared from the room.
"What is happening to my daughter?!" Helena freaked out when she saw the situation her daughter is in while she is asleep. It's as if she is suffering from something.
Cohen held her close while Rouen went near the girl. She is still calling out to him and it is more frantic than before. The second he touched her hand, Eona gasped and opened her eyes.
"Precious…"
She focused her attention on him but when she smiled, he immediately could tell that she wasn't Eona at the moment because she never smiled that way to him. "Your highness…" she whispered, as if she had expected to see him there.
He stared at her intently. Eona never addressed him formally and her words just sealed his thought that someone had taken control over her whole being. Rouen reached out for her neck without delay and squeezed it tight as he roughly pulled her out of bed, not caring if she is in her nightgown. He didn't even take the time to ask as to what those filigree lines on the side of her neck that are glowing like molten lava were. The new lines etched on her neck seemed to have been starting to bleed but he completely ignored the scent of blood coming from it because he had to restrain her immediately. Her safety comes first than his thirst. She resisted but his anger clouded his judgment at the moment.
"No! What are you doing? Let go of my daughter immediately!" Helena cried out, but Cohen just pulled her back when she is about to go and save her daughter from Rouen, because he knew Rouen didn't have any intention of causing her harm. She looked at her employer and pleaded, "Cohen, please, help my daughter! He is going to kill Eona!"
"It is Rouen in his awakened state, Helena. He is not going to hurt her."
"Don't come over here," Rouen ordered before he focused his attention back on the woman at the mercy of his hand. "How.Dare.You?!" He gritted while his eyes glistened dangerously, which made the woman who took control of Eona tremble in fear because she could feel Rouen's urge to kill through the girl.
"Your highness, please. I - "
"Shut up! You dare hurt the woman I care about? You must not have loved your cursed life. You may hide at the ends of the earth, but I will find you and I will bask myself in your blood as I smile down on your corpse."
"Rouen…"
The prince then looked towards the direction where Sorian and Sin appeared after the latter called his name. Both of them looked dishevelled and he did not waste any time in ordering his friend.
"Sin, track the night walker and find out who it was."
Sin glanced at Eona and then at him. How is he going to do that? He can't even read her thoughts.
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